Objectives Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is caused by mutations in MEFV, which encodes pyrin. The nature of substitutions P369S and R408Q in exon 3 remains unclear. Exon 3 encoding pyrin's B-box domain is necessary for interactions with proline serine threonine phosphatase interacting protein 1 (PSTPIP1). The aim was to characterise the phenotype of patients with these substitutions and to determine their functional significance. Methods A database of genetic tests undertaken at the US National Institutes of Health was interrogated. Symptoms and signs were classified according to Tel-Hashomer criteria. Coimmunoprecipitation techniques were employed to determine the variants' effects on pyrin/PSTPIP1 interactions. Results A total of 40 symptomatic and 4 asymptomatic family members with these substitutions were identified. P369S and R408Q were found in cis, and cosegregated in all patients sequenced. Clinical details were available on 22 patients. In all, 5 patients had symptoms and signs fulfilling a clinical diagnosis of FMF, and 15 received colchicine. In patients not achieving the criteria, trials of anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents resulted in partial or no benefit; resolution of symptoms was noted in those receiving anakinra. The carrier frequency was higher in the patient cohort than in controls but was not statistically significant. Coimmunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that these pyrin variants did not affect binding to PSTPIP1. Conclusions P369S/R408Q substitutions are associated with a highly variable phenotype, and are infrequently associated with typical FMF symptoms, however a trial of colchicine is warranted in all. Functional and modelling studies suggest that these substitutions do not significantly affect pyrin's interaction with PSTPIP1. This study highlights the need for caution in interpreting genetic tests in patients with atypical symptoms.


Freshly prepared mixtures of spotted fever virus and immune rabbit serum in neutral or superneutral proportions confer complete immunity on guinea pigs. The mixtures undergo a considerable loss in immunizing power when heated to 60°C. for 20 minutes, but are still capable, if used in sufficient quantity, of conferring a degree of immunity on the vaccinated animal such that a subsequent experimental infection is rendered less severe and non-fatal. Unheated mixtures which had been preserved in the refrigerator at 4°C. for a period of 32 days still retained a certain degree of immunizing property. The virus alone, or mixed with normal rabbit serum, when allowed to die out by prolonged preservation at refrigerator temperature, or when killed either by heating at 60°C. for 20 minutes or by chemicals (chloroform, ether, xylene) does not induce immunity in guinea pigs.


Building security issues are of serious concern in the industry today. This paper will describe the design, development and testing of a software tool that can be effectively used to translate three dimensional building data sets of geometry, materials and HVAC components into an input file for the airflow and contaminant concentration simulation program CONTAM. The objective of the exercise is to allow for shorter turnaround time in evaluating IAQ strategies and building security related issues. The software tool, 'fsIFCCTM', has been successfully tested to translate 3-D building elements like spaces, walls, doors, windows, and HVAC components like ducts, duct junctions, terminals, fans, filters etc. With additional work, the software can be further extended to translate elements like sensors and controls. It uses the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) data model for achieving the translation.


ABSTRACT The literature on fiscal institutions argues that there is a pro-spending bias in legislative budgeting, which can be mitigated by institutional arrangements. In the mid-1990s Sweden carried out reforms to the budget process that fundamentally restructured parliamentary decision-making, including the voting process and the role of different committees. This paper assesses the impact of these reforms on legislative budgeting. It concludes that the new process helps to safeguard fiscal discipline, but also cautions against a simplistic interpretation of the fiscal institutionalist literature that treats institutional arrangements as exogenous. The constraints of the revised legislative process are essentially self-imposed, which in the final analysis makes it difficult to argue that the Swedish Parliament has lost budgetary control. Moreover, separate reforms of external audit and improvements in the provision of performance information provide an opportunity to strengthen accountability for results.


Emergence of Diamesa cheimatophila was determined for a five year period (1981–1986) using a permanently operated walk-in emergence trap over a spring-fed tributary of Fourmile Creek in Erie, northeast Pennsylvania. Annual emergence started in September/October, continued sporadically through winter until April/May and occurred over a span of 185–236 days. Averaged over the five years of our study, > 80% of annual emergence occurred during winter when long-term average air temperatures are less than 10 degrees C. Emergence of D. cheimatophila shows patterns similar to emergence of D. mendotae Muttkowski at groundwater-influenced stream sites in Minnesota, where it is known to produce 2–3 cohorts per year during winter. Well-defined peaks in winter emergence of D. cheimatophila indicates at least two, but possibly three or four cohorts emerging per winter. The year-to-year variability in emergence of D. cheimatophila strongly suggests this species also conforms to the Labile Life Cycle Hypothesis proposed for D. mendotae, (but refined in this paper) with the actual number of cohorts produced per winter depending on the onset and duration of cold air temperatures.


The introduction of short-range electronic distance measurement in 1971 revolutionized surveying. Thousands of surveying and engineering firms across the U.S. today routinely use EDM for measuring distances. Now another major change in surveying practice looms: the use of the electronic theodolite and of the electronic recording of data in the field. The electronic theodolite automatically senses both the vertical and horizontal angle and displays it on a digital readout. And both angles and distance measurements can be fed into the field data collector at the push of the button. The data collector saves much time back in the office: no longer a need to spend hours keyboarding notebooks full of field data into the computer. In a nutshell, the new developments mean: greater speed, both in the field and office; better accuracy; fewer chances for human error.


The previously reported relationship between nephritogenicity and bacteriocine production among Group A streptococci has been examined. Using techniques comparable to the earlier study, the present study did not reveal any such relationship. Among 73 strains tested, 53% produced bacteriocines; no significant difference was noted between bacteriocines from strains isolated from cases of nephritis and those from a group of strains recovered from patients with other conditions. In addition, no correlation between type and bacteriocine production was observed.


The main aims of this study are to describe how much the economic role of agriculture decreased, and this decrease comes mainly from some economic difficulties, for example weak income position of producers based on weak capital accumulation. So agricultural producers need financial supports to improve their production and favourable credit conditions. In 1990s during the last decade, the role of agriculture in the national economy decreased, which contributed to its decreasing share in GDP and real value of agricultural GDP. In 2001, in spite of the fact that the plant production considerably increased and the animal husbandry stagnated, the whole agricultural production volume was by 20 percent under its level of 1989. Finally by the end of 2001, the share of agriculture declined to 4 percent of GDP and together with food industry, their share was about 7 percent. The agricultural scissors increased considerably, namely from 126.5 percent in 1992 to 138.4 percent in 2001.The income conditions made a significant influence on the capacity of the agricultural sector in fields of investments and accumulation. The main problem was the decline of real value of investments. For example the real value of investments in 2001 had not implemented half of investments realised in 1989. This situation showed the low level of technological and technical development in the agricultural sector during a longer period, than a decade. It was important to increase different kinds of supports for agricultural producers, for example: export subsidies, interests of credits, supports for establishing new farmland structure. The share of supports for agricultural production and food industry was 12-14 percent of the two sectors' GDP in 1990s. The development of the main factors of agricultural incomes was determined by index calculations based on the data of the APEH (Hungarian Tax and Financial Supervising Office) and EAA (Economic Accounts for Agriculture). The supports are needed, which are as follows: based on the APEH data, the profit before tax of 23 billion HUF in 1997 decreased to the loss-level of 8 billion HUF by the end of 1990s. The main aim for agricultural producers was to increase their capital accumulation to implement improvement of production in order to be compet- itive on the world and domestic markets. There is a difficulty that at the end of 1990s, only about 30 percent of the supports was directly provided for agricultural producers. In Hungary, without taxes and other different deprivals, the current value of produc- tion supports was over the level of incomes obtained in agricultural sector, but according to the calculation methods of the OECD, the value of PSE (PSE= Producer Support Estimate) index was at a very low level and it had a decreasing tendency, which could not ensure enough income for agricultural producers in Hungary. So the development of agricultural production cannot be realised additionally to the unfavourable background conditions for the sector. Comparing the support structure experienced in the OECD with that in Hungary, it can be declared, that within the PSE (Producer Support Estimate) during 1997-2000, the MPS (Market Price Support) declined, similarly it was in Hungary. In the OECD, the 8-9 percent share of payments based on input use has remained at same level within the PSE. The subsidy based on input use in Hungary was a main element within the overall subsidy system, and its proportion within the producer subsidy increased from 9 percent to 27 percent during the same period. The payment based on the regulation on input use (environment friendly production) also decreased and shared 2 percent within producer subsidies. In the OECD, payments based on farming income totalled only 1 percent of the total producer subsidies, as well as it was experienced in Hungary. Hungarian market price subsidies by products reveal that milk, eggs and poultry enjoyed a high Market Price Support. On the other hand, Market Price Support to beef cattle remained low.


Goal: The research aimed at the search for alternatives to sustainability in the transformation of environmental liabilities into economic assets, managed through the A3 Report. Design / Methodology / Approach: Due to economic issues, there was significant increase in cost with materials, low availability of credit for investment, the companies saw the opportunity for adoption and implementation of the lean production system and the green production system. The A3 Report method for problem solving was applied as the basis for research. The mindset behind the A3 method is divided into five sections for solving the definition of the business requirement, current conditions; the target situation; action plans and indicators. It must be said that this adoption makes possible not only the reduction of waste and quality improvement, but also the competitive advantage and greater profitability of the invested capital. Results: The results showed with the implementations of the countermeasures have generated reduction of cost with the transportation and destination of the organic waste and began to generate revenues with the sale of recyclables making possible to the sustainability in the transformation of environmental liabilities into economic assets. Limitations of the investigation: The research only portrays the disposal of waste from the company of collective meals. Although the entire operation is in accordance with the country's environmental regulations, it was decided to replace the company name with the choice of a fictitious name, "The Collective Food Industry". Practical implications: The world is going through a new industrial revolution and this fact makes it necessary for companies to proactively manage their resources. Originality / Value: A small step towards environmental sustainability using the lean production system method in conjunction with the green production system essential to the success of the project


A geometry based simplified analytical model that decouples the current and position effect on flux and torque in the switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives is presented in this paper. This model gives a direct relation between phase current and torque accounting for the high degree of nonlinearity of the machine. A simple flux model and its inverse relationship have been developed to meet diverse requirements of controller design. The paper emphasizes and demonstrates the importance of these relationships for real time controller implementation of high performance SRM drives.


Man in a Cold Environment: Physiological and Pathological Effects of Exposure to Low Temperatures. By Alan C. Burton, Ph.D., and Otto G. Edholm, M.B., B.S. (Pp. xiv + 273; illustrated. 30s.) London: Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd. 1955. This monograph was originally commissioned by the Defence Research Board of Canada presumably with the object of providing those concerned with the care and protection of military personnel with a convenient compendium on the effects and dangers of a cold environment. The monograph, of course, goes much farther than this and will appeal to a wider public. It is concerned with the relationship of homeotherms, and in particular man, to the laws of thermodynamics. The declared aim of the authors is the presentation of a unified and consistent scheme for the evaluation of the problems of man in a cold enviroment. To this end Burton and Edholm and other workers in this field have created what is practically a new subdivision of biology in that it has a jargon peculiar to itself, a courageous if as yet incomplete mathematical theory and a new derived unit of measurement, the "Clo" unit of thermal insulation. This monograph provides a practically painless introduction for the novice to the new science. The opening chapters are concerned with the purely physical and then physiological aspects of the problem; then follows a description and discussion of the various biological and artificial mechanisms developed by man to preserve constant the temperature of his "milieu interieur". The final chapters are devoted to a consideration of the consequences resulting from failure to maintain this temperature. The subjects discussed range from the paradoxical disentropic behaviour of living cells to the cause and treatment of "Immersion Foot". The authors' style is pleasant and lucid and the reviewer has found little to criticize on that score. As a clinician, however, he would have appreciated a further chapter dealing specifically with the reaction of the diseased subject to the temperature of his environment. Having experienced the immediate warming effect of the consumption of a block of chocolate in a sub-arctic environment the reviewer remains unconvinced that the specific dynamic action of food is of no importance in protection against cold. There is in this monograph much of direct interest to the physiologist and the pathologist. The medical practitioner will find within it advice on the proper treatment of the casualty apparently frozen to death and it should be compulsory reading for those who practise that new, and as yet dangerous, therapeutic procedure, the induction of hypothermia.


Until recently, most network design techniques employed a bottom-up approach with lower protocol layer mechanisms affecting the development of higher ones. This approach, however, has not yielded fascinating results in the case of wireless distributed networks. Addressing the emerging aspects of modern network analysis and design, Evolutionary Dynamics of Complex Communications Networks introduces and develops a top-bottom approach where elements of the higher layer can be exploited in modifying the lowest physical topologyclosing the network design loop in an evolutionary fashion similar to that observed in natural processes.This book provides a complete overview of contemporary design approaches from the viewpoint of network science and complex/social network analysis. A significant part of the text focuses on the classification and analysis of various network modification mechanisms for wireless decentralized networks that exploit social features from relevant online social networks. Each chapter begins with learning objectives and introductory material and slowly builds to more detailed analysis and advanced concepts. Each chapter also identifies open issues, while by the end of the book, potential research directions are summarized for the more interested researcher or graduate student.The approach outlined in the book will help network designers and administrators increase the value of their infrastructure without requiring any significant additional investment. Topics covered include: basic network graph models and properties, cognitive methods and evolutionary computing, complex and social network analysis metrics and features, and analysis and development of the distinctive structure and features of complex networks. Considering all aspects of modern network analysis and design, the text covers the necessary material and background to make it a suitable source of reference for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and scientists


Background: Posbindu is part of the health service system covering promotive and preventive. Educational institution is dihambau to provide health facilities one of them Posbindu. Students are the most important part of educational institutions to support the need for healthy physical and psychological conditions. Posbindu can detect early risk of untransmitted diseases, including hypertension and obesity at the age of 18 years and above. Purpose of this study is to know the factors that affect the utilization of Posbindu. Methods: of research, a detailed analytical approach, the population of all active students in STIKES Mamba'ul ' Ulum Surakarta 258 people, sampling with purposive random sampling, a sample based on Solvin formula obtained from 94 respondents. Data retrieval using physical test result when in (BMI and blood pressure index) and questionnaire contains about the condition of the respondent's health and the utilization of in, each variable of ordinal and Inteval scale. Results: Respondents with a level of knowledge about Posbindu category quite 79%, BMI category ideal body weight 74%. Conslusion: Normal average blood pressure 65%, regular visit at Posbindu 2x visit. The results of a simple linear regression analysis test in the right factor on the utilization of Posbidu is knowledge, BMI and health status with a significance of 0.000 < 0.05.


Aim The research question for this study was: Are there within-group disparities in Hispanic women's knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptomology? Background Hispanics constitute the fastest growing group in the US and have surpassed other racial and ethnic groups to become the largest US minority. Hispanics make up about one-third of the US population, and hence are a group of significant interest for health care providers. Few studies have examined heart attack and stroke symptom awareness among adult Hispanic women, a group at high risk for delays in treatment. Research is needed to elucidate their knowledge of warning symptoms for these vascular events. Methods Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey data from states using the 2003–2005 Heart and Stroke module were examined by multivariate techniques. To maximize the representativeness of the sample, three years of survey data (2003–2005) were amalgamated into a single dataset. If a given state administered the Heart and Stroke module in multiple years, only the data from the most recent year were included in the merged dataset. In the final analysis, data from 23 states, one territory and the District of Columbia were included in the combined 2003–2005 database. The unweighted sample size for the population of interest for the years 2003–2005 was 3146. For analysis these data were weighted to represent 2 641 024 Hispanic women aged 18 years and older who answered questions about heart attack and stroke symptoms. Findings Adult Hispanic women earning low scores on the heart attack and stroke knowledge questions were more likely to have less than a high school education, be uninsured, live in a household with an annual income of <$35 000 and not have a primary care provider. Discussion These results suggest that strategies to educate Hispanic women on signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke might benefit from targeting women in these groups.


We live at a unique moment in history when rapid economic growth has finally lifted hundreds of millions out of deep poverty, not only in Asia and Latin America but increasingly in Africa (Sala-i-Martin and Pinkovskiy, 2010). Yet the impending damage of climate change could reverse this. The world is failing miserably at implementing rational and collectively beneficial treaties and policies to tackle climate change. In spite of the many declarations concerning the need not to exceed two degrees of warming, current lack of action will make it difficult to avoid three degrees. The effects of climate change will be very unequal, particularly because there is a negative relationship between temperature and income (Dell et al., 2009). The poor will have particular difficulty in making the necessary investments to protect themselves and to adapt in response to climate change pressures, rendering them most vulnerable. New evidence shows that even the vital ability to grow economically will be severely set back. Several articles have shown how heat – particularly in poor countries – may increase conflicts and decrease growth rates. Climate change is far from the only global environmental problem we face; we find in one area after another that world production and consumption exceeds the Earth's capacity to provide a satisfying quality of life, which raises a number of sustainability issues (see, for instance, Arrow et al., 2012).


Test Automation is essential to increase the effectiveness, efficiency and coverage of software testing activities with reasonable effort which is required to keep up in a fast-paced industry with a growing demand for high quality software products. Nevertheless adopting test automation is a difficult task for development organisations. Automating the testing process for application landscape frameworks is especially hard due to the complexity caused by the variety of customer application landscape configurations, used tools and platforms. This complexity often is hard or impossible to reduce due to given domain constraints, e.g. limited resources of embedded systems and different platforms that have to be supported. In addition, existing hardware and software systems in the customer's application landscape require rather flexible solutions and configuration options for different customers. In this paper we present some major challenges adopting test automation for application landscape frameworks, as research shows that this is especially difficult for such highly configurable systems. Furthermore initial ideas on how to cope with these challenges are outlined.


After independence in 1961 Tanzania declared to fight poverty, disease and ignorance in order to bring development to its people. But up to know the majority of Tanzanians are faced with poverty: experience shows that economic empowerment of poor people is needed. One way of economic empowerment to poor is the establishment of SACCOS which are user -owned micro finance institutions that offer variety of financial products including savings and credit services to their members to help them engage in productive activities.

The study was investigating factors influencing capacity of SACCOS in providing long – term financial services to poor households. The study was carried out in Wamana and Makongo SACCOS in Dar-es-salaam Region .It was a survey study where primary and secondary data were collected through interviews, observation, document analysis and questionnaires, then analyzed by using descriptive statistics where as results were presented in tables, and some of them described graphically for more clarification and precise work .

The trend in issuance of loans to members reveals that, from 2005 Makongo managed to allocate micro credits to 62 members out 98 while Wamana managed to allocate micro credit to 458 members out of 2174 in the year 2011. This means that the capacity of these SACCOS is still low generally these Savings and Credit Co-operative societies (SACCOS) should encourage savings mobilization from member so as to build a financial base for credit provision which can help them to increase the capacity.


Does a school district that expands school choice provide better outcomes for students than a neighborhood-based assignment system? This paper studies the Zones of Choice (ZOC) program, a school choice initiative of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) that created small high school markets in some neighborhoods but left attendance zone boundaries in place throughout the rest of the district. We study market-level impacts of choice on student achievement and college enrollment using a differences-in-differences design. Student outcomes in ZOC markets increased markedly, narrowing achievement and college enrollment gaps between ZOC neighborhoods and the rest of the district. The effects of ZOC are larger for schools exposed to more competition, supporting the notion that competition is a key channel. Demand estimates suggest families place substantial weight on schools' academic quality, providing schools with competition-induced incentives to improve their effectiveness. The evidence demonstrates that public school choice programs have the potential to improve school quality and reduce neighborhood-based disparities in educational opportunity.


The authors report a metamaterial (MM) consisting of cut-wire structures which shows near-perfect absorption at microwave frequencies. Experimental results show slight lower performance than simulation. The analysis of the spectra and retrieved electromagnetic parameters demonstrate that the mismatch is attributed to the considerable influence of the dielectric loss on the strength of the electric and magnetic resonances, which largely determines the ability of the MM absorber. Such dependence on dielectric loss provides an important clue for the design of MM absorber aiming at specific applications where high efficiency energy collection in dielectric is needed.


Abstract. The balance between denitrification and nitrogen fixation is the key control of the availability of nitrogen in coastal ecosystems and thus the primary productivity of these environments. However, evaluating the importance of denitrification and nitrogen fixation over large spatial and temporal scales is problematic. In this study, a combined mass and stable isotope balance of nitrogen was used to constrain the cycling of nitrogen in Western Port, Victoria – a temperate, intertidal embayment in south-eastern Australia. This method is a more effective approach compared to the extrapolation of discrete measurements and geochemical approaches. The validity of the isotope and mass balance model has been tested by comparing the output of the model with the average measured isotopic signature of the sediment in Western Port. Using previously measured rates of nitrogen fixation and denitrification in combination with the isotopic signature of nitrogen inputs from the catchment, atmosphere and the marine environment, the model returned an isotopic signature of 4.1 ± 2.5 ‰. This compares favorably with the average measured isotopic signature of the sediment of 3.9 ± 1.2 ‰. Sensitivity analysis confirmed that it was the isotopic values of the end-members, fractionation factors of assimilation and denitrification that exerted the greatest control over the isotopic signature of the sediment and not the loadings of the source and sink terms. Analysis of the relative importance of the various nitrogen inputs into the bay suggests that nitrogen fixation contributes 36 % of the total nitrogen inputs to Western Port.


Multifunctional phosphine based ligands, 1,1,1-tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane [CH3C(CH2 PPh2)3][P3] and 1,1,1-tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane trisulphide [CH3C(CH2P(S)Ph2)3][P3S3] have been introduced to stabilize Au(o)-nanoparticles having small core diameter and narrow size distribution. The Au(o)-nanoparticles were synthesized by the reduction of HAuCl4 precursor with NaBH4 in the presence of ligand P3 or P3S3 using two phases, one pot reaction at room temperature. The Au(o)-nanoparticles exhibit face centered cubic (fcc) lattice having different crystalline shape i.e., single crystallite stabilized by P3 while P3S3 forms decahedral shapes. Surface plasmon bands at -520 nm and TEM study indicate particle size below 2 and 4 nm for Au(o)-nanoparticles stabilized by P3 and P3S3 respectively, which are attributable to the stronger interaction of Au(o) (Soft) with P (Soft) than Au(o) (Soft) with S (less Softer than P). Au(o)-nanoparticles stabilized by P3S3 shows higher thermal stability than that of P3. The synthesized Au(o)-nanoparticles serve as an efficient catalyst for one-pot, three-component (A3) coupling of an aldehyde, an amine and an alkyne via C-H alkyne-activation to synthesize propargylamines (85-96%) without any additives and precaution to exclude air.


Mixed virus infections threaten crop production because interactions between the host and the pathogen mix may lead to viral synergism. While individual infections by potato virus A (PVA), a potyvirus, and potato virus X (PVX), a potexvirus, can be mild, co-infection leads to synergistic enhancement of PVX and severe symptoms. We combined image-based phenotyping with metabolite analysis of single and mixed PVA and PVX infections and compared their effects on growth, photosynthesis, and metabolites in Nicotiana benthamiana. Viral synergism was evident in symptom severity and impaired growth in the plants. Indicative of stress, the co-infection increased leaf temperature and decreased photosynthetic parameters. In contrast, singly infected plants sustained photosynthetic activity. The host's metabolic response differed significantly between single and mixed infections. Over 200 metabolites were differentially regulated in the mixed infection: especially defense-related metabolites and aromatic and branched-chain amino acids increased compared to the control. Changes in the levels of methionine cycle intermediates and a low S-adenosylmethionine/S-adenosylhomocysteine ratio suggested a decline in the methylation potential in co-infected plants. The decreased ratio between reduced glutathione, an important scavenger of reactive oxygen species, and its oxidized form, indicated that severe oxidative stress developed during co-infection. Based on the results, infection-associated oxidative stress is successfully controlled in the single infections but not in the synergistic infection, where activated defense pathways are not sufficient to counter the impact of the infections on plant growth.


a spondylating procedure is ideal. Furthermore, I would like to stress two practical points as far as decapitation is concerned: 1 . A firm controlled traction must be given to the prolapsed arm after tying it with a sterile ribbon gauze so that the neck is within reach; this will also prevent the further stretching of the lower segment of uterus. 2. Leaving aside the described instruments, such as the embryotomy decapitation saw, I have always found a sharp scissors very useful for cutting the cervical spine after introducing it along and below the palmer surface or the left hand placed over the neck. Once the neck is severed from the body the extraction of the rest of the body is very quick and easy. I have no experience in using the Blond Heidler decapitation saw which seems to be ideal for this purpose I agree that wherever possible fetal death should be confirmed by ultrasound. However, this facility is not available at the primary and secondary level hospitals in developing countries, where the decision is taken based upon clinical grounds only. This is usually not difficult as patients usually reach hospital quite late and one can confidently take the decision on clinical grounds alone. lnformed consent of the patient and family, however, must always be taken to avoid medico-legal implications.


Zinc-binding proteins account for nearly half of the transcription regulatory proteins in the human genome and are the most abundant class of proteins in the human proteome. The zinc-binding transcriptional regulatory proteins utilize Zn2+ to fold structural domains that participate in intermolecular interactions. A study by Matt et al. in this issue of the Biochemical Journal has examined the transcription factor binding properties of the zinc-binding module C/H1 (cysteine/histidine-rich region 1) found in the transcriptional co-activator proteins CBP (CREB-binding protein) and p300. Their studies revealed that EDTA treatment of native C/H1 leads to irreversible denaturation and aggregation. Of particular concern is their finding that unfolded C/H1 participates in non-specific protein-protein interactions. The implications of these results are significant. EDTA is a very potent zinc-chelating agent that is used ubiquitously in protein interaction studies and in molecular biology in general. The potentially detrimental effects of EDTA on the structure and interactions of zinc-binding proteins should be taken into account in the interpretation of a sizeable number of published studies and must be considered in future experiments.


In this work we present a study on three types of semiconductor mode-locked lasers as possible sources for a high precision absolute distance metrology measurement concept based on pulse repetition frequency (PRF) sweep. In this work, we evaluated one vertical emission laser and two transversal emission sources. The topology of the gain element is quantum-well, quantum-dot and quantum-dash, respectively. Only the vertical emission laser has optical pump, whilst the others operate with electric pumping. The quantum-dash laser does not have a saturable absorber in its configuration but relies on a dispersion compensating fiber for generating pulses. The bottleneck of vertical emission laser is his high power density pump (4.5W/165μm), increasing the vulnerability of damaging the gain element. The other lasers, i.e., the single (quantum-dash) and double section (quantum-dot) lasers present good results either in terms of applicability to the metrology system or in terms of robustness. Using RF injection on the gain element, both lasers show good PRF stabilization results (better than σy(10ms) = 10−9 ) which is a requirement for the mentioned metrology technique.


Lipid peroxidation and DNA damage were evaluated in liver slices incubated for 2 h at 37 degrees C with 1 mM-t-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH), 1 mM-BrCCl3 or 50 microM-ferrous iron. t-BOOH induced the greatest amount of damage to DNA and increased the production of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). Both phenomena depended on the incubation time. Ferrous iron induced both DNA damage and TBARS production, and BrCCl3 did not induce significant DNA damage and was the weakest TBARS inducer. Butylated hydroxytoluene at 1 mM inhibited both DNA damage and TBARS production. DNA damage and lipid peroxidation in liver slices were correlated, indicating that these events were concurrent.


Cartograms are map-based data visualizations in which the area of each map region is proportional to an associated numeric data value (e.g., population or gross domestic product). A cartogram is called contiguous if it conforms to this area principle while also keeping neighboring regions connected. Because of their distorted appearance, contiguous cartograms have been criticized as difficult to read. Some authors have suggested that cartograms may be more legible if they are accompanied by interactive features (e.g., animations, linked brushing, or infotips). We conducted an experiment to evaluate this claim. Participants had to perform visual analysis tasks with interactive and noninteractive contiguous cartograms. The task types covered various aspects of cartogram readability, ranging from elementary lookup tasks to synoptic tasks (i.e., tasks in which participants had to summarize high-level differences between two cartograms). Elementary tasks were carried out equally well with and without interactivity. Synoptic tasks, by contrast, were more difficult without interactive features. With access to interactivity, however, most participants answered even synoptic questions correctly. In a subsequent survey, participants rated the interactive features as "easy to use" and "helpful." Our study suggests that interactivity has the potential to make contiguous cartograms accessible even for those readers who are unfamiliar with interactive computer graphics or do not have a prior affinity to working with maps. Among the interactive features, animations had the strongest positive effect, so we recommend them as a minimum of interactivity when contiguous cartograms are displayed on a computer screen.


The benefits offered by a feasibility study are considerable. Not only does it enable an organization to set a realistic campaign goal, but it can also help with the more inexact science of assessing the fund-raising climate.


This module addresses the role of software in complex systems Distribution This article or presentation is written as part of the Gaudi project. The Gaudi project philosophy is to improve by obtaining frequent feedback. Frequent feedback is pursued by an open creation process. This document is published as intermediate or nearly mature version to get feedback. Further distribution is allowed as long as the document remains complete and unchanged. June 23, 2016 status: preliminary draft version: 1.0 The Role of Software in Systems by Gerrit Muller Buskerud University College e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com www.gaudisite.nl Abstract Software is a dominating factor in the development of complex systems. It plays a crucial role in the performance of the final product at the one hand, while it contributes significant to the development cost and elapsed time of development. This paper will discuss the role of software in the broader system context. An improved understanding of the role of software enables the system architect, and the other stakeholders of the product creation process, to integrate the software development better. In this way hardware-software tradeoffs can be made, balancing performance, costs and risks.Software is a dominating factor in the development of complex systems. It plays a crucial role in the performance of the final product at the one hand, while it contributes significant to the development cost and elapsed time of development. This paper will discuss the role of software in the broader system context. An improved understanding of the role of software enables the system architect, and the other stakeholders of the product creation process, to integrate the software development better. In this way hardware-software tradeoffs can be made, balancing performance, costs and risks. Distribution This article or presentation is written as part of the Gaudi project. The Gaudi project philosophy is to improve by obtaining frequent feedback. Frequent feedback is pursued by an open creation process. This document is published as intermediate or nearly mature version to get feedback. Further distribution is allowed as long as the document remains complete and unchanged. June 23, 2016 status: concept version: 1.3 sensor optical device mechanical device C o n tr o l Fe ed b ac k human user


New urbanism aims to reform the constructed cities as it seeks to create new and complete cities. The main idea of transit oriented development (TOD) is manly based on the public railroad transportation as the quickest and most effective tool in competition with automobiles (car) in order to cause an effective change in the transportation style and decrease the dependence on cars and horizontal growth of the city. In the current study, the experiences of the development corridors are analyzed after investigating the transit oriented development using applied descriptive method and the planning, capitalization and implementation methods are examined based on the corridor development theory. Types of land use suitable for development including residential, commercial, educational, leisure time and so are evaluated in terms of establishment and location. Next, the feasibility of implementation of this method in new spaces created by subway lines in the Mashhad city is studied. Investigation of one of the urban train lines shows that a station named Koohestan Park (mountain-park) located in the Vakil Abad Boulevard has appropriate potentials and advantages for corridor development and urban investments and can contain diverse land uses for orientation toward sustainable objectives. Finally, land use and market activity in the area around this station are investigated using the SWOT model and the necessity of investment and creation of corridor development unit is evaluated.


Graphical models are widely used to make inferences concerning interplay in multivariate systems. In many applications, data are collected from multiple related but nonidentical units whose underlying networks may differ but are likely to share features. Here we present a hierarchical Bayesian formulation for joint estimation of multiple networks in this nonidentically distributed setting. The approach is general: given a suitable class of graphical models, it uses an exchangeability assumption on networks to provide a corresponding joint formulation. Motivated by emerging experimental designs in molecular biology, we focus on time-course data with interventions, using dynamic Bayesian networks as the graphical models. We introduce a computationally efficient, deterministic algorithm for exact joint inference in this setting. We provide an upper bound on the gains that joint estimation offers relative to separate estimation for each network and empirical results that support and extend the theory, including an extensive simulation study and an application to proteomic data from human cancer cell lines. Finally, we describe approximations that are still more computationally efficient than the exact algorithm and that also demonstrate good empirical performance.


The aim of this book is to introduce (in six chapters and four appendices) GM technology, and to discuss the principles of risk assessment in connection with human and animal health and the environment. Linguistically it is articulate, but scientifically it is a missed opportunity. The authors seem to be biased, presenting advantages uncritically and picking holes in any criticism that GM crops have received. Only three biosafety issues of transformation are mentioned on page 20, even though the possible problems with integration appear later (legend to Fig. 1.7). Furthermore, unanticipated changes in the phenotype (pleiotropic effects) also constitute a biosafety issue. The authors compare recombinant technology with conventional breeding, claiming that transformation is faster, but in most cases elite cultivars cannot be transformed, so conventional breeding is still a necessary step to introduce required traits into desirable cultivars. Suggestions such as 'in case of contained application of GMOs, there is no need to identify potential hazards . . .' are calling for disaster, as human errors are not completely avoidable. The authors suggest that studies on possible deleterious effects of GM products should be carefully peer reviewed before being put into the public domain. I could not agree more with this comment, but the possible positive effects of GM products should be treated in the same way. Furthermore, in order to have unassailable credibility, risk assessment should be performed by an independent third party. The supporters of genetically modified plants do not need to be convinced, and thus this book is not for them, while people who are sceptical will find lots of omissions and slanted language to fuel their scepticism.


One hundred and sixteen patients with advanced and metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were randomized to treatment with combined Streptozotocin and 5-fluorouracil or combined Streptozotocin and cyclophosphamide. Toxic reactions to each regimen were qualitatively similar and consisted of nausea and vomiting during the time of treatment and subsequent leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Renal toxicity was less frequent and only rarely severe. Among 51 eligible and evaluable patients treated with the Streptozotocin-cyclophosphamide combination, 12% showed objective response and among 42 patients treated with Streptozotocin + 5-fluorouracil, 12% showed objective response. The Streptozotocin + 5-fluorouracil-treated patients showed a slight advantage in survival. Neither regimen can be considered of substantive value to the patient with advanced pancreatic carcinoma.


The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) is a 4-meter solar telescope under construction at Haleakala, Hawaii. The challenge of the DKIST optical alignment is the off-axis Gregorian configuration based on an Altitude-Azimuth mount, the independently-rotating Coudé platform and the large number of relay mirrors. This paper describes the optical alignment plan of the complete telescope, including the primary 4.24-m diameter off-axis secondary mirror, the secondary 620 mm diameter off-axis mirror, the transfer optics and the Coudé optics feeding the wavefront correction system and the science instruments. A number of accurate metrology instruments will be used to align the telescope and to reach the performances, including a laser tracker for initial positioning, a theodolite for accurate tilt alignment, a Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) arm for local alignment in the Coudé laboratory, and a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor to characterize the aberrations by measuring selected target stars. The wavefront will be characterized at the primary focus, the Gregorian focus, the intermediate focus and at the telescope focal plane. The laser tracker will serve also to measure the mirrors positions as function of Altitude angle due to the Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) structure deflection. This paper describes also the method that will be used to compute the compensating mirrors shift and tilt needed to correct the residual aberrations and position of the focal plane.


Abstract. A coupled carbon-ecosystem model is compared to recent data from Ocean Weather Station M (66° N, 02° E) and used as a tool to investigate nutrient and carbon processes within the Norwegian Sea. Nitrate is consumed by phytoplankton in the surface layers over the summer; however the data show that silicate does not become rapidly limiting for diatoms, in contrast to the model prediction and in contrast to data from other temperate locations. The model estimates atmosphere-ocean CO2 flux to be 37 g C m−2 yr−1. The seasonal cycle of the carbonate system at OWS M resembles the cycles suggested by data from other high-latitude ocean locations. The seasonal cycles of calcite saturation state and [CO32-] are similar in the model and in data at OWS M: values range from ~3 and ~120 μmol kg−1 respectively in winter, to ~4 and ~170 μmol kg−1 respectively in summer. The model and data provide further evidence (supporting previous modelling work) that the summer is a time of high saturation state within the annual cycle at high-latitude locations. This is also the time of year that coccolithophore blooms occur at high latitudes.


Psychologists have used the semantic fluency task for decades to gain insight into the processes and representations underlying memory retrieval. Recent work has suggested that a censored random walk on a semantic network resembles semantic fluency data because it produces optimal foraging. However, fluency data have rich structure beyond being consistent with optimal foraging. Under the assumption that memory can be represented as a semantic network, we test a variety of memory search processes and examine how well these processes capture the richness of fluency data. The search processes we explore vary in the extent they explore the network globally or exploit local clusters, and whether they are strategic. We found that a censored random walk with a priming component best captures the frequency and clustering effects seen in human fluency data.


Naming faces is a common area of study from a wide range of perspectives in social sciences, including cognitive psychology and several branches of cognitive neuroscience. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the cognitive models that have been proposed to explain the diverse aspects of face naming, taking into account face processing and language production models. In addition, a review of the neuroscientific data from event-related potential studies (when) and functional neuroimaging studies (where) is presented. Thus, an integrated view of the cognitive models and the data relating the different processes involved in naming faces to the brain activity is provided.


This volume has a dual purpose. As a study of Japanese literature, it aims to define the state of Japanese literary studies in the field of women s writing and to point to directions for future research and inquiry. As a study of women s writing, it presents cross-cultural interpretations of Japanese material of relevance to contemporary work in gender studies and comparative literature. The essays demonstrate various critical approaches to the tradition of Japanese women s writing from a consideration of theoretical issues of gendered writing in classical and modern literature to a consideration of the themes and styles of a number of important contemporary writers. Feminist literary critics have generally defined women s discursive practice in terms of four major genderrelated contexts: literary-historical, biological, experiential, and cultural. Accordingly, the thirteen essays in the volume are divided into four parts. Part I locates women writers within Japanese literary history; Part II shows ways in which modern women writers have written the body in Japan; Part III gives examples of tropes and genres used to write about female experience; and Part IV depicts how gender intersects with other social and cultural contexts in Japanese women s writing.


Currently, informative graphics has attracted considerable attention for its efficient and effective methods of communication. The ways in which people receive information strongly influence their ability not only to comprehend the information but also to capitalize on the purported benefits of the information. Information-design approaches can facilitate the creation of many good-quality designs. By understanding both the history of information design and pertinent case studies, we can familiarize ourselves with information-design methods and applications. In this article, I discuss the evolution and various forms of informative graphics on the basis of historical, content-oriented, and phenomenological analyses. I investigate visual representations' roles and identify the strengths and deficiencies of visual communication for information design. Historical evidence—such as Playfair's graphic charts and his method, Winderlich's clinical graphics, Nightingale's statistical graphs, and Snow's dot maps—show that appropriate visual formats can depict data and that these depictions can demonstrate effects over time. The graphical method can also aid in the measurement of small-time intervals between biological effects. Multiple variables enhance the exploratory power of graphics in relation to analysis and discovery. Narrative graphics associate the spatial dimension with time-series displays to depict space and time. Although many disciplines acknowledge "the importance of communication," the general public in Taiwan has only recently begun to acknowledge the importance of informative graphics. We should reflect now and then on the evolution and various forms of informative graphics.


Organic matter in soils of northern high latitudes show a high lability to recent permafrost thaw.
Mobilisation and release of soil organic matter (SOM) in permafrost areas might have a significant
impact on the carbon and nitrogen flux into the marine environment and in the atmosphere which
motivated scientists in the past to quantify carbon and nitrogen stocks. However, the determination
of environmental factors and their influences to SOM storage still need to be investigated more
accurately. This thesis seeks to contribute to an improvement of this issue.
This study investigates the SOM in the active layer and surficial permafrost on Herschel Island in
the western Canadian Arctic. It evaluates the preservation and degradation status of SOM in relation
to different landscape phenomena. To reach this goal, soil moisture, total organic carbon (TOC) and
total nitrogen (TN) contents were analysed on 128 samples from twelve sediment cores. The stable
carbon isotope (∂¹³C) composition on organic carbon and TOC/TN ratios (C/N) were determined.
Drilling locations were chosen based on of morphology, vegetation and soil properties and
supported by satellite imagery and air photos which classify the surface of Herschel Island into
seven ecological units. Regression analyses and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to
work out possible correlations and significant differences between environmental factors. Seasonal
thaw depths (active layer depths) increase with disturbance and a decreasing vegetation cover and
show depths between 20 and 100 cm. Results on organic matter show that consistently wellpreserved
SOM is accumulated in the active layer and subjacent ice-rich permafrost of depressional
polygonal tundra. Waterlogging leads to reduced organic matter decomposition and an enrichment
of the TOC and TN content characterising depressional polygonal tundra as a peatland environment.
Upland plateaus, gently rolling terrain and alluvial fans represent more than 50 % of the island and
show heterogeneous SOM storage characteristics with mostly considerable TOC contents being
limited to the active layer. SOM storage in subjacent permafrost is reduced. Disturbed areas with
slope gradients greater than 6° show strong SOM degradation with consistently low SOM contents
throughout the active layer and permafrost strata. Stabilised slopes show a reestablishment of a
vegetation cover and indicate initiation of SOM accumulation. This study highlights the
heterogeneity in SOM storage on Herschel Island which is mainly due to local morphology, soil
type, vegetation and moisture content. Principal component analysis shows that a gradient of
reduced SOM content is evident with increasing ground disturbance. Improved drainage decreases
the preservation of SOM in the active layer and ice rich permafrost can hold considerable SOM
contents. Future deepening of the active layer with increasing air temperatures in the Arctic might
remobilise SOM stored in ice-rich permafrost, especially in peatland environment.


International law enforcement can work without any involvement from the U.N. Security Council ("UNSC"). Cooperation between nations does not require a formal organizational structure or extensive international bureaucracy, and bypassing this establishment would reduce the delay or inaction caused by the veto of the UNSC's permanent members. One way to improve international law would be to look at the relative success of the Proliferation Security Initiative ("PSI"). This Idea will proceed in three parts. Part II will discuss the dangers of the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction ("WMD"), particularly with regard to rogue states and international terrorists. Part III will discuss why it has been difficult for the U.N.centered system to effectively respond to these concerns; and will describe the PSI's effort to overcome them. Part IV will address criticism of the PSI.


Abstract Mega-events present a special venue for the practice of risk management. This article analyses the management of security risks in the case of two sporting mega-events, the London 2012 Olympic Games and the FIFA 2006 World Cup in Germany. To what extent do strategies and practices of risk management resemble each other across events? And what explains similarities or differences in the tools of risk management observed in each of these cases? First, this article explores three theoretical explanations for the choice of particular policy tools or instruments. Second, it introduces the tools of government approach as a means of conducting a direct comparative analysis of risk management across political and organizational settings and over time. The tools used for security risk management at the two mega-events are then compared and the different logics of tool choice are evaluated. This analytical approach offers a basis for future comparative inquiry into tools of risk management used in public and private organizations. The empirical findings highlight the particular importance of national political systems in influencing tool choice.


People use rich prior knowledge about the world in order to efficiently learn new concepts. These priors - also known as "inductive biases" - pertain to the space of internal models considered by a learner, and they help the learner make inferences that go beyond the observed data. A recent study found that deep neural networks optimized for object recognition develop the shape bias (Ritter et al., 2017), an inductive bias possessed by children that plays an important role in early word learning. However, these networks use unrealistically large quantities of training data, and the conditions required for these biases to develop are not well understood. Moreover, it is unclear how the learning dynamics of these networks relate to developmental processes in childhood. We investigate the development and influence of the shape bias in neural networks using controlled datasets of abstract patterns and synthetic images, allowing us to systematically vary the quantity and form of the experience provided to the learning algorithms. We find that simple neural networks develop a shape bias after seeing as few as 3 examples of 4 object categories. The development of these biases predicts the onset of vocabulary acceleration in our networks, consistent with the developmental process in children.


Background and objective: An increasing turnover of employees, especially nurses, pressures the Faculty of Medicine more concern about employees' organization commitment. The purpose of this survey was to identify the level of organization commitment and factors related among employees at Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. Methods: The samples were 852 persons who had been working in the Faculty of Medicine and were chosen by random sampling. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaires constructed from the literature review included 15 questions for organization commitment and 29 questions for its related factors. They were asked to base their responses from 1-5 scale and then classified level of commitment upon the following five-point Likert's scale; ranging from highest, high, modest, low and lowest level. The frequencies, percentage, mean, standard deviations, 95% CI, Independent sample t test, ANOVA were used in this study. Results : Response rate was 80.75%, most of them were female (78.4%) with median age of 44 year (IQR 17), and 42.5% were bachelor degree. The overall organization mean score was high (3.82, SD 0.44, 95%CI=3.78, 3.85). The highest relationship score was loyalties to the organization domain while the lowest score was devotes to the organization domain. This study also found sex, education level, age, length of work and income were related to the employees' commitment with statistical significance. Conclusion: The overall level of organization commitment was rather high mainly from the organizational factors. However, to increase level of employees' commitment, their incomes should be concerned, especially for bachelor degree employee who's below 29 year old. Key Words: Organizational commitment and related factors


An elastic–viscoplastic constitutive law is implemented in the formulations of a curved quadrilateral element based on thin shell theory. The element surface is defined using variable-order polynomials allowing representation of a wide range of shell geometries. The large displacement effects are included by using an incremental stiffness procedure together with the Lagrangian mode of description of motion. The time rate effects may be treated by using explicit, semi-explicit or implicit time marching schemes. A scheme for automatic calculation of time step is used. By allowing steady-state conditions to be reached, plasticity solutions are obtained. Both perfect plasticity and strain hardening are considered. The Von Mises yield rule and the associated flow rule are used to determine plastic deformation. The spread of plasticity in the thickness direction is allowed by using a layered model. The procedures developed are applied to solve elastic-plastic, small and large displacement problems of thin plates and shells and the results obtained are compared with existing solutions to illustrate the validity and accuracy of the present developments.


Discrete logarithm problem is an important trapdoor function to design asymmetric cryptosystem, and some fast public key cryptosystems have been designed based on it. In the paper, we introduced fast asymmetric cryptosystem into the designing and analyzing of blind signature, and presented improved blind signature schemes based on ECC (Elliptic Curves Cryptosystem). The trapdoor function of the blind signatures is based on ECDLP (Elliptic Curves Discrete Logarithm Problem), and the algorithms of the scheme make full use of the superiority of ECC, such as high efficiency and short key length. The improved blind signature schemes can achieve the same security level with less storing space, smaller communication band-width and less overheads regarding software and hardware application. Furthermore, the algorithms in the schemes can be generalized into other public key cryptosystems based on discrete logarithm problem without any influence to efficiency or security.


Using a data set of 2,968 articles collected from 22 different newspapers in Turkey, this article maps media responses to the ongoing Gulf Crisis. In doing so, we deploy a pioneering methodology derived from natural language processing and correspondence analysis to test whether categorical variables such as political affiliation, ownership, and ideological outlook had any impact on how a news publication covered the Gulf Crisis. In the results and interpretation sections, we attempt to connect our findings to broader discussions on agenda setting, framing, and building consent. Based on our analysis, we propose the following conclusions: (a) Political affiliation, ownership structure, and the ideological outlook all had unique effects on how a publication covered the Gulf Crisis, (b) the progovernment press embarked on a campaign to sway public opinion about the government's decision to side with Qatar. The dimensions of this campaign strongly resembled an executive act of consent manufacturing, and (c) corporate-owned news organizations were the driving force shaping both the public agenda and the dominant framing of the Gulf Crisis in the Turkish mediascape.


Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) agents have acquired a prominent place in the treatment options for infl ammatory disorders. Among the side effects of these agents are the so-called paradoxical reactions which have increasingly been reported in recent years. A review of literature was carried out using Medline (PubMed) database from January 2010 to December 2014 to collect all published articles on cases of anti-TNFα-induced psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Published articles were identifi ed, reviewed and the relevant data extracted. A total of 22 studies (46 patients) fulfi lled the inclusion criteria and were selected for analysis. Of the 46 patients, 45 (97.8%) developed psoriasis and 1 (2.1%) psoriatic arthritis. The mean age of patients was 47 years; three (6.5%) patients had a past history of psoriasis. Infl iximab caused cutaneous reactions in the most number, 26 (56.5%) cases. Thirty seven (80.4%). patients developed primary plaque-type psoriasis. Women accounted for 86.9% of patients. There was complete resolution of psoriasis in 12 (26%) patients despite differences in the therapeutic approach. Cessation of the incriminated drug led to resolution of cutaneous lesions in 5 (10.8%), switching to another TNFα antagonist led to resolution in 6 (13%) and one (2.1%) patient improved despite continuation of the drug. As for the lone case of psoriatic arthritis, drug withdrawal did not result in improvement; only switching to another anti-TNFα agent helped. Since our sample was small, it was not adequately powered to draw any fi rm conclusions. However, in this analysis, we found that paradoxical reactions occurred predominantly in adult women, there were only isolated cases with a personal history of psoriasis, infl iximab was responsible for most cases of these reactions and the most prevalent form was plaque-type psoriasis. The decision whether to continue or discontinue the triggering anti-TNFα agent should be individualized as results are highly variable.


This paper examines the cognitive and neuropsychological functioning of children who were in utero to age 15 months at the time of the Chornobyl disaster and were evacuated to Kyiv from the 30-kilometer zone surrounding the plant. Specifically, we compared 300 evacuee children at ages 10-12 with 300 non-evacuee Kyiv classmates on objective and subjective measures of attention, memory, and school performance. The evacuee children were not significantly different from their classmates on the objective measures (grades; Symbolic Relations subtest of the Detroit Test; forms 1 and 2 of the Visual Search and Attention Test; Benton Form A; Trails A; Underline the Words Test) or on most of the subjective measures (the attention subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist completed by mothers; the attention items of the Iowa Conners Teacher's Rating Scale; mother and child perceptions of school performance). The one exception was that 31.3% of evacuee mothers compared to 7.4% of classmate mothers indicated that their child had a memory problem. However, this subjective measure of memory problems was not significantly related to neuropsychological or school performance. No significant differences were found in comparisons of evacuees and classmates who were in utero at the time of the explosion, children from Pripyat vs. other villages in the 30-kilometer zone, and children manifesting greater generalized anxiety. For both groups, children with greater Chornobyl-focused anxiety performed significantly worse than children with less Chornobyl-focused anxiety on measures of attention. The results thus fail to confirm two previous reports that relatively more children from areas contaminated by radiation had cognitive deficits compared to controls. Possible reasons for the differences in findings among the studies are discussed.


Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that can cause diarrhoea. Human faeces are an important source of Cryptosporidium in surface waters. We present a model to study the impact of sanitation, urbanization and population growth on human emissions of Cryptosporidium to surface waters. We build on a global model by Hofstra et al (2013 Sci. Total Environ. 442 10–9) and zoom into Bangladesh and India as illustrative case studies. The model is most sensitive to changes in oocyst excretion and infection rate, and to assumptions on the share of faeces reaching the surface water for different sanitation types. We find urban centres to be hotspots of human Cryptosporidium emissions. We estimate that 53% (Bangladesh) and 91% (India) of total emissions come from urban areas. 50% of oocysts come from only 8% (Bangladesh) and 3% (India) of the country area. In the future, population growth and urbanization may further deteriorate water quality in Bangladesh and India, despite improved sanitation. Under our 'business as usual' ('sanitation improvements') scenario, oocyst emissions will increase by a factor 2.0 (1.2) for India and 2.9 (1.1) for Bangladesh between 2010 and 2050. Population growth, urbanization and sanitation development are important processes to consider for large scale water quality modelling.


Silicon single crystal pulling process by Czochralski method is a multi-scale problem from atomistic scale defects up to several meters. This process involves several sources of instabilities e.g. crystal diameter perturbation, turbulent melt flow, pulling rate fluctuation, heating power oscillation. A wide range of growth instabilities is studied with a special focus on the melt/crystal interface shape and thermo-elastic stresses as key parameters in crystal growth process.Energy, mass and momentum conservation equations are solved by means of numerical simulations. The axisymmetric Czochralski furnace is implemented in a global model in which the melt flow complexities and all heat transfer aspects are included. In order to ensure the fidelity of numerical simulations, a set of sensitivity analyses is initially performed with respect to thermo-physical properties of furnace components. The impact of uncertainties in the material properties on the key growth parameters is investigated. Interface tracking scheme is used to obtain the melt/crystal interface shape under different growth conditions. Evolution of interface shape is studied with regards to crystal and crucible rotation rates. The interaction of various driving forces in the melt flow is studied. In particular, formation of W-shape interface type is explored with respect to the flow structure. The map of thermo-elastic stresses is calculated regarding the interface shape instabilities.Another source of growth instabilities is crystal diameter fluctuations during the course of growth process. The map of temperature and thermo-elastic stress fields associated with diameter fluctuations is evaluated for isotropic and anisotropic silicon properties. The excess resolved shear stress from critical value is calculated for 12 dislocation slip systems. As one main objective is to grow dislocation-free crystal for PV applications, the probability of dislocation generation is examined along the grown crystal.Finally, a transient model is developed to simulate crystal advection using an expanding mesh scheme. An Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is adopted to calculate the thermal field and thermally induced stresses dynamically. The two-phase medium is treated by employing Cpequivalent method. The crystal pulling rate fluctuation, as an inevitable feature of crystal growth, is applied for growing a fixed diameter crystal. The interface curvature is captured as the crystal grows. Combining the interface shape and pulling rate instabilities, thermo-elastic stresses are calculated dynamically in this part of thesis.


The cost efficiency of model inference is critical to real-world machine learning (ML) applications, especially for delay-sensitive tasks and resource-limited devices. A typical dilemma is: in order to provide complex intelligent services (e.g. smart city), we need inference results of multiple ML models, but the cost budget (e.g. GPU memory) is not enough to run all of them. In this work, we study underlying relationships among black-box ML models and propose a novel learning task: model linking. Model linking aims to bridge the knowledge of different black-box models by learning mappings (dubbed model links) between their output spaces. Based on model links, we developed a scheduling algorithm, named MLink. Through collaborative multi-model inference enabled by model links, MLink can improve the accuracy of obtained inference results under the cost budget. We evaluated MLink on a multi-modal dataset with seven different ML models and two real-world video analytics systems with six ML models and 3,264 hours of video. Experimental results show that our proposed model links can be effectively built among various black-box models. Under the budget of GPU memory, MLink can save 66.7% inference computations while preserving 94% inference accuracy, which outperforms multi-task learning, deep reinforcement learning-based scheduler and frame filtering baselines.


Abstract We survey two generations of research on corporate governance systems around the world, concentrating on countries other than the U.S. The first generation of international corporate governance research is patterned after the U.S. research that precedes it. These studies examine individual governance mechanisms—particularly board composition and equity ownership—in individual countries. The second generation of international corporate governance research considers the possible impact of differing legal systems on the structure and effectiveness of corporate governance and compares systems across countries.


High velocity and stability are the development trend and inevitable requirement, but the clearance would make the stability of mechanical system deceased, especially in high speed. To the folder mechanism with clearances in high velocity, combined with the definition of sensitivity and the kinematics analysis, the kinematics sensitivity analysis model is derived by the matrix analysis method. Through the sensitivity analysis model, it can be easy to get the relationship of the design variables and the mechanism's robustness, which provides the base to design the folder mechanism in high velocity.


The present paper investigates the stochastic seismic responses of steel structure systems with Partially Restrained (PR) connections by using Perturbation based Stochastic Finite Element (PSFEM) method. A stiffness matrix formulation of steel systems with PR connections and PSFEM and MCS formulations of structural systems are given. Based on the formulations, a computer program in FORTRAN language has been developed, and stochastic seismic analyses of steel frame and bridge systems have been performed for different types of connections. The connection parameters, material and geometrical properties are assumed to be random variables in the analyses. The Kocaeli earthquake occurred in 1999 is considered as a ground motion. The connection parameters, material and geometrical properties are considered to be random variables. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed SFEM algorithm are validated by comparison with results of Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method.


The influence of blood pressure levels on the prevalence of symptoms was studied in a group of 1771 untreated hypertensive patients referred to the Saint-Joseph Hypertension Clinic in Paris. Information on symptoms was obtained from a standardized physician-conducted interview during the patient's first visit at the outpatient clinic. The most frequent symptoms were headache (40.5%), palpitation (28.5%), nocturia (20.4%), dizzines (20.8%) and tinnitus (13.8%). Except for nocturia, symptom prevalence was higher in females than in males. In males as well as in females, no correlation was found between blood pressure levels and the presence of headaches, dizziness, palpitation and tinnitus when results were adjusted for age. In contrast, the relationship between two behavioural characteristics, anxiety and lack of regular physical activity, and symptom prevalence was more pronounced than the relationship with the blood pressure level itself. Moreover, the symptom prevalence reported differed significantly between the five permanent physicians of the clinic; comparison of results obtained by physician conducted interview and self-administered questionnaire indicated that differences between physicians were not due to differences in patient's characteristics but to differences in physician behaviour.


This article clarifies the role and effects of scope creep in software development projects. It discusses how scope can be effectively managed to avoid it from "creeping" and reducing chances of project success. By reviewing a range of literary works on the issue of scope creep in the software field, the discussion includes project scoping, common system development life cycle (SDLC) models, change management and control processes. With the appropriate change management procedures in place, scope creep can be effectively controlled instead of allowing it to control the project. Project managers need to adopt a balanced stance when considering change requests so as to reap the benefits while evading the disastrous consequences of scope creep. This article reviews the two schools of thought concerning scope creep and provides an understanding of its true form.


Neospora (N.) caninum is a protozoan parasite which is regarded as a major cause of abortion in cattle. Dogs and coyotes are definitive hosts of N. caninum which may shed environmentally resistant stages, oocysts, in their feces. Epidemiological studies in Germany showed that the presence of dogs increased the risk of a bovine herd to be N. caninum-positive in a bulk-milk ELISA test. However, there were also N. caninum-positive herds where dogs were not kept together with cattle.This leads to the question whether canids other than dogs, e.g., foxes, might be involved in the horizontal transmission of N. caninum. Therefore, the aim of our examinations in wild animals was to find out whether there are indications for a sylvatic cycle with foxes as definitive hosts and deer, roe deer and wild mice samples contained structures which resembled those of coccidian oocysts. In 13 of these 65 samples coccidian DNA was detected using a 18S rRNA gene based polymerase chain reaction (PCR).The examination of the 65 samples in a N. caninum-specific PCR revealed no positive result. Hammondia (H.) heydorni-DNA was detected in two samples. In addition, brain samples from 528 foxes, 224 wild mice, 16 deer and roe deer as well as from 1 wild boar were examined for the presence of N. caninum DNA by real time PCR. All samples tested negative by PCR. In conclusion, our study yielded no evidence indicating that the examined animals were part of a sylvatic cycle for N. caninum.


Summary The relation between hypoxidischemia and subsequent alterations in seizure susceptibility in developing brain remains unclear. We assessed the behavioral and electrocorticographic (ECoG) effects of hypoxicl ischemic brain damage on bicuculline (BIC)‐induced seizures in 7‐day postnatal rats, and determined maturational changes in seizure susceptibility, behavior and ECoG activity. Rat pups were subjected to unilateral common carotid artery ligation, followed by exposure to 8% O2 at 37°C for 2 h, an insult that produces brain damage in the cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to carotid artery occlusion. The experimental group consisted of rat pups previously subjected to hypoxidischernia; control littermates received neither arterial ligation nor systemic hypoxia. Experimental animals received 4,5, or 6 mg/kg BIC subcutaneously (s.c.) at 2 and 24 h, and at 3, 7, and 21 days of recovery from hypoxidischemia. Two animals at each interval of recovery, 1 each from the experimental and control groups, were used for ECoG monitoring. After BIC injection, animal behavior was observed for 2 h. Behaviors and seizures were classified in five categories based on severity, duration, and character: 1, mild irritability; 2, few clonic seizures and agitation; 3, few tonicclonic seizures with swimming movements; 4, frequent tonic‐clonic seizures with apneic episodes; 5, continuous tonic‐clonic seizures and death. Rat pups previously subjected to hypoxidischernia had lesser seizure susceptibility than controls at 2–h recovery (p <0.05) and greater susceptibility than controls at 24 h (p <0.05). Tonic seizures were prominent at 2 and 24 h in both the experimental and control groups, whereas lesion‐sided circling was prominent only in the hypoxia/ischemic rat pups. At 3 days of recovery, seizure susceptibility was greater in controls (p <0.05), decreasing thereafter through 21 days of age. No significant differences in seizure severity were noted between the 2 groups at 7 and 21 days. A close correlation existed between behaviorally observed seizures and ECoG paroxysmal activity in all groups, although low‐amplitude spike activity occurred without associated behavioral changes, especially at 2 and 24 h of recovery. Hypoxia/ischemia severe enough to produce brain damage probably initially suppresses seizure susceptibility, which thereafter is temporarily increased at 24 h of recovery. The age‐dependent changes in seizure susceptibility after hypoxidischemia presumably relate to injury‐induced imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems.


Background: Studies have shown that supplementation of adult men with selenium-enriched yeast (SY) was protective against prostate cancer (PCa) and also reduced oxidative stress and levels of prostate-specific antigen. Here, we determined the effect of SY supplementation on global serum protein expression in healthy men to provide new insights into the mechanism of selenium chemoprevention; such proteins may also serve as biomarkers of disease progression. Methods: Serum samples from 36 adult men were obtained from our previous SY clinical trial, 9 months after supplementation with either SY (247 μg/d; n = 17) or placebo (nonenriched yeast; n = 19). Results: Proteomic profiling using two-dimensional difference in gel electrophoresis followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry revealed a total of 1,496 candidate proteins, of which, 11 were differentially expressed in the SY group as compared with placebo. Eight proteins were upregulated [clusterin isoform 1 (CLU), transthyretin, α-1B-glycoprotein, transferrin, complement component 4B proprotein, isocitrate dehydrogenase, haptoglobin, and keratin 1] and three proteins were downregulated [α-1 antitrypsin (AAT), angiotensin precursor, and albumin precursor] by SY. All of the identified proteins were redox-sensitive or involved in the regulation of redox status. Because both AAT and CLU have been previously linked to PCa development, their identities were confirmed by two-dimensional Western blot analysis. Conclusions: We identified AAT and CLU as potential candidate proteins involved in the mechanism of PCa prevention by SY. Collectively, proteins identified in this study might serve as potential new biomarkers for monitoring and comparing responses to selenium-based chemopreventive agents. Impact: Proteomic analysis of serum might be useful for the early detection and monitoring efficacy of chemopreventive agents. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(9); 2332–40. ©2010 AACR.


Crystallization of a magnesium hydroxychloride (basic magnesium chloride) mineral may play an important role in buffering pH in concentrated marine evaporite brines. Laboratory synthesis of Mg 2 (OH) 3 C1-4H 2 O as an alteration product of Mg(OH) 2 in 2 M MgCl 2 solutions at 25°C suggests that this salt may precipitate in hypersaline environments. Brine compositions from a succession of salt pans near Portoroz, Yugoslavia, support the hypothesis. After converting concentrations to ion activities with a modified version of the computer program WATEQ, it is seen that the ion activity product of Mg 2 (OH) 3 Cl reaches a maximum midway through the Portoroz succession and then remains essentially constant in the more concentrated brines. This suggests that IAP max = K sp . Since crystallization of only minute amounts of this salt would generate the observed pH decline and since the salt would be extremely soluble in subsequent pore fluids, it is not surprising that the phase remains unobserved in marine evaporite assemblages.


Background Changes in the population structure and the main causes of death result in the growing burden of chronic diseases, which characterize the epidemiological transition. The transition takes place at different paces in different parts of the world. The developed world has taken over a century to complete the transition, and the rapidly developing countries of Asia and Latin America are undergoing a swift transition. In contrast, many sub-Saharan African countries are said to be experiencing a delayed transition. In Ethiopia, routine health care reports are incomplete and erratic. Lack of nationwide data on causes of death clouds understanding of the burden of disease or its composition. Consequently, there is limited knowledge on the course of the epidemiological transition, which has left room for widespread scepticism concerning the importance of chronic diseases in the country. Hence, the health system continues to be heavily reliant on the conventional "infectious disease paradigm", and fails to be responsive to emerging health problems. Assessing the pattern and causes of disease burden enables meeting the health care needs of vulnerable population segments and devising cost-effective interventions that avert the impact of emerging diseases on the health and well-being of the nation. However, in countries without a functional system for registration of vital events, such as births and deaths, complete and reliable data on the burden of chronic diseases will not be available. Data on their risk factors, which are valuable for prevention and control programmes, can be generated through population-based surveillance, and serve as a practical alternative. Objectives This research project was implemented in order to illustrate the distribution of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and examine the gradient across urban and rural populations in Ethiopia, thereby contributing to national and global efforts of tracking the course of the epidemiological transition. Methods The WHO STEPS instrument was employed in two populations of central Ethiopia, representing a predominantly rural district (Butajira) and the national capital – Addis Ababa. Over 8000 adults in the age group 25-64 years, from the two populations, participated in interview and physical measurements, which were conducted in a standard manner. Ethical clearance for the project was obtained from appropriate national bodies and ethical conduct was maintained throughout the research process. Results The findings revealed wide disparities, between urban and rural populations, in the distribution of the main risk factors of CVD. Elevated blood pressure, obesity, and physical inactivity were more concentrated in urban populations, while the rural-urban gap was narrower with the distribution of cigarette smoking and binge drinking of alcohol. The use of substances like khat (Catha edulis Forsk), which may increase the risk of acute myocardial infarction, is expanding from rural areas that grow the plant to urban populations, partly due to improved transportation and market forces. The gap in the distribution of risk factors between the sexes is wider in rural populations and narrows down in urban areas. Thus, men in rural areas have a markedly higher prevalence of hypertension than women, while the level is similar between men and women in urban areas. Urban women carry more risk of CVD due to higher prevalence of physical inactivity, overweigh and obesity. Intake of fruits and vegetables is not consistent with optimal cardiovascular health in both rural and urban populations, but comparatively better in rural areas. Conclusion and recommendations The prevalence of high blood pressure in urban Ethiopia is similar to other sub-Saharan African countries, and closely comparable to the situation in the developed world. Owing to the established contribution of high blood pressure to CVD morbidity and mortality, it (elevated blood pressure) may represent the principal risk factor for CVD in the Ethiopian population, particularly in urban areas. Programmes for the prevention and control of CVD in Ethiopia should give due priority to the prevention of high blood pressure and its precursors, such as physical inactivity, overweight and obesity. Population wide strategies should be implemented to promote healthy dietary behaviour and physical activity, and to prevent smoking and substance use behaviours. Programmes should also aim to improve awareness, detection and appropriate clinical management of high blood pressure among health care providers and the public at large. The stepwise surveillance of chronic disease risk factors (STEPS) should be implemented on a sentinel nationwide basis in Ethiopia, in order to inform policy and guide strategies and programmes for the prevention and control of CVD and other chronic diseases. The national health extension program offers an opportunity to establish a system for registration of birth, death, and similar vital events at a population level, which provides a more reliable foundation for estimating vital indicators and disease burdens.


In this paper, a system is introduced to manage waste in big cities effectively without having to monitor the parts 24x7 manually. Here the problem of unorganized and nonsystematic waste collection is solved by designing an embedded IoT system which will monitor each dumpster individually for the amount of waste deposited. Here an automated system is provided for segregating wet and dry waste. A mechanical setup can be used for separating wet and dry waste into separate containers here sensors can be used for separating wet and dry. For detecting the presence of any waste wet or dry can be detected using an IR sensor in the next step for detecting wet waste a moister sensor can be used. In this process, if only IR is detected motor will rotate in the direction of the dry waste container if both the sensor detects the waste then it will go to the wet container. Both these containers are embedded with ultrasonic sensors at the top, the ultrasonic sensor is used for measuring distance. This makes it possible to measure the amount of waste in the containers if one of the containers is full then alert message will be sent to the corresponding personal. Keywords— ATmega328, EEPROM, IOREF, FTDI USB


In distributed learning, a central server trains a model according to updates provided by nodes holding local data samples. In the presence of one or more malicious servers sending incorrect information (a Byzantine adversary), standard algorithms for model training such as stochastic gradient descent (SGD) fail to converge. In this paper, we present a simpli(cid:28)ed convergence theory for the generic Byzantine Resilient SGD method originally proposed by Blanchard et al. [NeurIPS 2017]. Compared to the existing analysis, we shown convergence to a stationary point in expectation under standard assumptions on the (possibly nonconvex) objective function and (cid:29)exible assumptions on the stochastic gradients.


In the last decades, customers and regulators are continuously imposing more stringent requirements on safety, emissions and fuel consumption, pushing the manufacturers to optimise every single phase of the engine operations. Many goals in design point operations and off-design ones have already been reached. However, in order to meet the requirements on ground start and altitude relight capabilities, the sub-idle regime performance still needs to be fully comprehended. In this regime, the engine is operating at a speed below the idle one and, since these are extreme off-design conditions, innovative approaches to create high-fidelity prediction tools are required. For this purpose, one of the main challenges is to further understand the compressor behaviour. Many performance tools are available to predict it near design point, but, due to the lack of experimental data and the complexity of the flow, they are not reliable for sub-idle conditions. Hence, in the previous years, in Cranfield University a surrogate model for loss and deviation in sub-idle conditions was developed to be implemented in mean-line or through-flow codes. The maps generated through these tools will then be used for the whole engine sub-idle performance analysis. The main target of this research was then to improve and generalise this model by considering the effects of the camber angle and of the flow unsteadiness. Using the same 2D CFD parametric model, different blade geometries were considered. The results are suggesting that the camber angle has no effect on the flow deviation. For the pressure loss coefficient, a clear trend was not found probably due to the flow unsteadiness. Hence, transient simulations were performed, assessing the behaviour of the employed turbulence models as well. For the deflection case, the results were confirming the steady-state outcomes in all the cases. Regarding the pressure loss coefficient, there was a discrepancy between the data: the SAS-SST model behaved in a different way depending on the considered geometry, probably due to its scale-adaptive capacity, that in case of a parametric model makes impossible to have a fair comparison. However, the model has been used in the mean-line code, generating compressor maps that were successfully validated against experimental data.


Introduction: SM22 (aka transgelin) is known to be an actin-binding protein that is rapidly downregulated in response to vascular injury. Despite prevalent view regarding SM22 as a maker of VSMC dedifferentiation, recently a series of studies including our own demonstrate that SM22 downregulation promotes SMC dedifferentiate into a variety of SMC subtypes involving in proliferation, migration, inflammation, osteochondrogendesis and apoptosis. Hypothesis: In the present study, we assess the hypothesis that SM22 regulates the expression of col1a2, a fibrotic marker, in SMCs. Methods: We use molecular and cellular approaches to analyze the regulation of col1a2 in smooth muscle cells upon artery injury using Sm22 knockout mice. Results: We found that carotid injury induces high expression of Col1a2 in the medial layer of the vessel wall and the nuclear translocation of serum response factor (SRF), a key transcription factor that regulates muscle-specific genes as well as growth factor response genes. To determine whether col1a2, an extracellular matrix protein, is a target of SRF, we performed bioinformatics analysis: we identified an evolutionarily conserved SRF binding sequence, CC(A/T)6GG (known as the CArG box), in the col1a2 promoter. Luciferase transfection assay showed that Vp16-SRF significantly transactivated the col1a2 promoter; mutation of the CArG box abolished most of this stimulating effect. Gel shift and chromatin precipitation assays confirmed that SRF bound to the CArG box of the col1a2 promoter. To investigate whether loss of SM22 in SMCs contributes to increased nuclear SRF expression, we knocked down SM22 in PAC1 cells, a VSMC cell line, using SM22 siRNA. Consistent with the in vivo observation, knockdown SM22 also enhanced nuclear SRF expression. However, cola2 transcription was not upregulated, suggesting that additional signals may be involved in this regulation in vivo . Conclusions: SM22 deficiency increases the fibrosis in the arterial media, and the induction of nuclear SRF may contribute at least in part to col1a2 transcription in response to artery injury.


The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the utilisation pattern, cost-effectiveness and seizure outcome of newer and older antiepileptic drugs in paediatric clinical practice in a Indian hospital setting (Rajah Muthiah Medical College & Hospital (RMMCH), Annamalai Nagar-608 002, Tamilnadu). Over a six-month period, all paediatric epilepsy patients from RMMCH, who were diagnosed according to the classification of the International League against Epilepsy, were followed up prospectively, and the patient's information was gathered with the help of a validated data collection form. An average of 1.30 antiepileptic drugs per patient was prescribed, with 59.09 % of them on monotherapy and 40.90 % on polytherapy. Phenytoin (39.65%) was the most commonly used AED as monotherapy, followed by carbamazepine (27.59%). Valproic acid (22.41%) and lamotrigine (10.34%), the only new AED as monotherapy, were used in this study. Benzodiazepines were used as adjuvant therapy. The most common BZD therapy was clobazam (64.58%) followed by midazolam (35.42%). A significant difference was observed between AED alone and AED+BZD (p =0.013) in terms of seizure control, which suggests that the addition of BZDs to the AED therapy did improve the seizure profile of the patients in the present study. Similarly, a significant difference was observed between Older AED's and older & newer combination (p =0.048) in terms of seizure control. Old AED's were more cost – effective than New AED's for treatment of epilepsy in paediatric patients, and the INCREMENTAL COST EFFECTIVE RATIO (ICER) OF NEW AED's TO OLD AED's was found to be Rs.73.33/APCCS (additional patient classified as complete success).